iMovie for Mac will not open Costco DVD of converted VHS home movies. I'm sure I was able to do this a few years ago with an older version of iMovie. Is there some limitation with iMovie? Costco DVD is simply a bunch of old family VHS home movies.
MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), MacBook Pro/IPadAir/iPhone 6
Just to add to Rich's reply:
You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle. For that you need mpegStreamclip:
http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A/quicktime-mpeg-2-playback-component-f or-mac-os-x
(unless you are running Lion or later in which case see below))
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
Or Handbrake.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.
And from the TOU of these forums:
Keep within the Law
1. No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
2. Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.
If you are running Lion or later:
From the MPEG Streamclip homepage
The installer of the MPEG-2 Playback Component may refuse to install the component in Lion. Apple states the component is unnecessary in Lion onwards, however MPEG Streamclip still needs it. See this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3381
To install the component in Lion, please download MPEG Streamclip 1.9.3b7 beta above; inside the disk image you will find the Utility MPEG2 Component Lion: use it to install the MPEG-2 Playback Component in Lion. The original installer's disk image (QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg) is required.
The current versions of MPEG Streamclip cannot take advantage of the built-in MPEG-2 functionality of Lion. For MPEG-2 files you still need to install the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component, which is not preinstalled in Lion. (The same applies to Mountain Lion and Mavericks even though they have it preinstalled.) You don't have to install QuickTime 7.
iMovie, either current or earlier version, does not deal with DVD's, which is an end-user medium. iDVD is the app designed to work with DVD's, and there are several other authoring programs that do so as well. You can, however, play your DVD on your computer or on a DVD player.
To get your DVD movies to work with iMovie, you would need to open the package contents of the DVD to reveal the VOB (Video Object) files and convert them to a format compatible with iMovie, such as MP4. It has been some years since I have done this, but I believe that you insert the DVD into your computer's disc player, and then right-click on the DVD icon that appears on your desktop to reveal the VOB files that you can drag-copy onto your desktop. There are video converter programs, like the free download Handbrake, that can then convert the VOB files. Somebody who had done this more recently may weigh in here with more information.
Thank you Rich839. You have refreshed my memory...I haven't done this for a long time either and I've forgotten the process. I do have Handbrake and iDVD (on my MBP), so I'll give your recommendations a try.
And from the TOU of these forums:
Keep within the Law
1. No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
2. Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.
In some places, importing a CD into iTunes is illegal.
Good thing we have, "Fair Use" in the United States.
Thank you Klaus for the elaboration on Rich's reply. You are both very helpful. I haven't done this for a couple of years (and my memory is not as good as it once was...I started with an Apple ][ - way back when...so, you have an idea of my age 😮 ). I'm using Handbrake now (I've had it for awhile) and converting the VOB files from the DVD (home movies) to .m4v files. I tested the first one with QT and it played fine. I just imported it to iMovie9. BTW, I've pulled iMovie 9 off of my TimeMachine backups and I'm using it because it allows the creation of a DVD (using iDVD - which I also pulled of my TM backup). Apple's new versions of everything digital is forcing us to iCloud so the newest version of iMovie doesn't set it up to make a DVD.
The whole project is to save old home VHS movies and add scene transition titles and some narration and then share with family members (on DVD, with streaming copies for those who want them.
Thanks again to you and Rich for the help.
iMovie 9 does not work well with El Capitan. Several incompatibilities have been reported. I suggest that you stick with iMovie 10.1.2, the current version, that works well with El Capitan.
Although the current version doesn't have a direct share option to iDVD, you still can make a DVD by sharing your movie as a file to your desktop, and then
dragging the movie into iDVD's project window. Just thought I would mention it.
You are welcome. I have been thankful to those who have refreshed my memory as well.
iMovie won't open Costco DVD of converted VHS home movies
